Android One program is quite an interesting and rather smart move by Google. They decided to partner up with OEMs in order for them to manufacture low cost smartphone which will have Google’s software inside in order to secure regular updates which come straight from Google. Manufacturers are allowed to implement their own applications in the phones, though there are significant limitations to that which don’t allow them to mess with the operating system. Google has decided to tackle India first, which is second largest smartphone market. Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are the first three OEMs which are delivering their smartphones as part of Android One project. You can read more about the event itself and these devices in general here.
We’ve already covered Karbonn Spice V‘s launch separately, this time we’re talking about Spice’s offering which was briefly leaked on Flipkart recently. I’m talking about Spice Dream Uno Mi-498 Android One smartphone which was introduced on today’s event. The device features a 4.5-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) IPS display along with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage (expandable via MicroSD card). MediaTek’s quad-core chip clocked at 1.3GHz is powering this thing with while the device comes with 1700mAh battery. There is a 5-megapixel camera on the back of the device and a 2-megapixel snapper is located on the front. The device measures 132 x 67 x 9.15mm and comes with Dual SIM support. As far as connectivity is concerned, the device is equipped with 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options while GPS is part of the package as well. Android 4.4.4 KitKat comes pre-installed on this device.
You might notice these are basically the same specs Karbonn Spice V sports. Spice Dream Uno will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting today at 3:30PM (India time). The phone will also be available in brick and mortar stores by Diwali, though that availability will have to wait due to Flipkart’s exclusive rights. The device is also getting 200MB of free data from Airtel for six months. You’ll be able to get this device from Flipkart for INR 6,999 which si approximately $115. Senior vice president at Google and head of Android and Chrome, Sundar Pachai, has announced that this is just a first wave of Android One device while stating that Lenovo, Acer, HTC, Asus, Panasonic and Alcatel have also joined the project.
